Panama Election Focuses On Canal

Voters Must Decide Which Candidate Can Best Handle Transfer

May 01, 1999|By Paul de la Garza, Tribune Foreign Correspondent.

PANAMA CITY, Panama — As presidential contender Mireya Moscoso met with reporters at her offices Friday, she chuckled when a reporter, in framing his question, characterized the election as "a battle between the dead."

She insisted it was her opponent, Martin Torrijos--son of former Panamanian strongman Gen. Omar Torrijos--and not her, who was capitalizing on his late father's name.

The truth, however, is that both candidates have exploited their ties to the past in an effort to guide Panama, a nation of 2.8 million people, to the future.

On Sunday, Panamanians go to the polls in an election full of nostalgia and uncertainty. The leading candidates are Moscoso, 52, the widow of former President Arnulfo Arias; and Torrijos, 35, the son of the former dictator. The elder Torrijos toppled the elected Arias in a military coup in 1968 and ruled Panama for 13 years.

The election is especially noteworthy because it comes at a time when Panama is preparing to take over the Panama Canal after nearly a century of U.S. control.

Panama also is getting about 100,000 acres of land and thousands of buildings, including former U.S. military bases, worth billions of dollars.

At the start of the decade, U.S. troops in Panama totaled 10,200. Come noon on Dec. 31, the scheduled pullout date, that number will be zero.

The American flag has flown over Panama since 1903, when President Theodore Roosevelt engineered the nation's break from Colombia to build what has come to be known as "the big ditch."

The canal began operations in 1914.

For Panama, the transfer means long-sought sovereignty, although newspaper polls consistently show that a majority of Panamanians prefer a U.S. military presence after 2000. The U.S. military generated an estimated 16,000 jobs and the pullout is expected to cost the local economy some $300 million a year.

With the presidential campaign staying relatively civil and with no controversial issues looming, the big question is: Who is better prepared to lead the transfer of the canal?

"The real problem is whether we will be able to administer the canal in a world full of conflict, in a world full of various interests, in a world that will be putting a lot of demands on us," said Marco Gandasegui, a political analyst in Panama City. "We are a country full of corruption, and this could make it better or worse."

The new president takes office Sept. 1, and although the 11-member panel managing the canal would be an independent entity, critics charge that the president would be in a position to influence billions of dollars in contracts.

Panamanian officials counter that not only will they be able to manage the canal, but that they will do it more efficiently than the U.S. They point out that 9 out of 10 people who work on the canal already are Panamanian.

To temper the economic fallout from the American departure, officials are hoping to turn the canal zone into a center for maritime services. Port facilities already have been privatized, and entrepreneurs hope to develop ecotourism in the rain forest.

Panamanian officials acknowledge they have been slow to prepare for the acquisition of American properties, and for their conversion into private use.

Despite 20 years to prepare, Ricardo Alberto Arias, a former ambassador to the U.S. and the foreign minister until last year, said, "There was no planning ahead of time."

At the U.S. Embassy here, the staff is split over who will win the election, although in recent days Moscoso, who made a strong showing in the last presidential elections, seems to have the momentum. The latest polls show the two candidates are neck and neck.